Blind Test!: Mechanical Keyboard Switches!

[James]

Buy mechanical keyboards on Amazon (PAID LINK): https://geni.us/fj1SdP

 

The team do a blind test of over 20 mechanical key switches from Cherry, Kailh, Gateron, Zeal PC, and more to figure out which switch most people prefer in their mechanical keyboards.

 

 

 

[GDRRiley]

MX blacks get my pick. I wish cherry made a even harder switch that didn't click.

 

I feel like blacks are the forgotten child.

[minibois]

Should have included a mem-chanical keyboard, just because it would have made the results a bit more interesting to see.

Like do people who don't feel mech vs. mem care less about what keyswitch they use? Do they care just as much?

 

Spoiler:

Spoiler

I love when Colton typed on the Cherry Browns he immediately went 'hate it' :^)

 

[S10]

I have never been able to get a mech keyboard to use but thanks for the video!

 

What switches are speed silver?

[LukeSavenije]

1 minute ago, S10 said:

What switches are speed silver?

speed silver are (to my knowledge) made by either cherry or kailh

[minibois]

1 minute ago, S10 said:

I have never been able to get a mech keyboard to use but thanks for the video!

 

What switches are speed silver?

Cherry MX Speed Silver. Sometimes just Cherry MX Speed or Cherry MX Silver.

Linear keyswitches similar to Cherry MX Red (Speeds actuate a little earlier than Reds)

 

They used to be exclusive to Corsair boards, but now other manufacturers have them too.

[mrstochastic]

LMG Staff needs to get some trigger ghosting lessons from Garand Thumb

[Danioki]

so wich one do I buy if I had never tried one and never will have an opportunity like this

[Mat BC]

what about the outemu switches, any particular reason for not including those?

[kelvinhall05]

Just now, Mat BC said:

what about the outemu switches, any particular reason for not including those?

Because they're dog shit.

 

They already have bad switches in there, all the ones made by Cherry suck balls.

[Mat BC]

6 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Because they're dog shit.

 

They already have bad switches in there, all the ones made by Cherry suck balls.

but isn't it the point of a test to check those things, like I have only your opinion that outemu switches are bad, I'd like a blind test to verify it

[JavaCode]

Is it me or did they skip over the reactions for the Box Navys? Was kind of hoping to see their opinions on that but I couldn't find in the video where they actually reviewed it. 

[seon123]

35 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Because they're dog shit.

 

They already have bad switches in there, all the ones made by Cherry suck balls.

The Sky and Ice are pretty good, afaik, but they are not very common.

[jiyeon]

Interesting results, been anticipating watching this video for a long time coming! Also really glad you guys brought Luke in.

 

As a mechanical keyboard enthusiast who has used over 25 different switches including Cherry Blacks, most of ZealPC's lineup, Kailh Box Jades, Gateron Ink Blacks, amongst others, I thought I'd pitch in my results from my own testing:

 

Daily Driver 1: Tealios V2

Daily Driver 2: Cherry Black
Tacitle: Zealios V2

Linear: Tealios V2

Clicky: Kailh Box Jade

 

It was intriguing seeing the reactions to Roselios and Tealios. (I might be a bit of a ZealPC fan) In my time using over 25 different switches, I too had the same reaction to the Zilents in particular where it felt disgusting to bottom-out, and almost felt like it was so mushy to the point I questioned if it was mechanical.

Silenced switches can be a hit or miss.

[Nowak]

Huh, this was way different than I expected. I thought that everyone would prefer the "golden standard" Cherry MX.

 

Also I agree with all the comments about the click on the Box Jades. So satisfying.

[Luscious]

So the keyboard that I really wanted wasn't available when it was time for me to switch to mechanical. I had to make a compromise.

 

My current daily driver is a MX speed silver. My tweaks included adding o-rings to make them less clacky. Anywhere from 1-3 depending on how far down I wanted the keys to sink as I hit them, and where they didn't "double register" which is a PITA. I also replaced the factory keys with PBT double shot key caps in a two tone color arrangement similar to those old school keyboards.

 

Corsair had a really good LOW PROFILE mechanical keyboard which would have been my preference but it was wired and I wanted wireless. It also only came in one switch type, no macro keys and you couldn't buy double shot key caps for it.

 

My OLD keyboard was a Logitech wireless K800. I liked it. It was low profile, had a dedicated CALC key, had an on/off switch, But the durability of that thing was horrendous with key caps breaking off and certain keys not registering when I typed.

 

CORSAIR's problem is that they have all the right ingredients - PBT key caps, wireless, low profile, custom macros, etc... - except that you cannot get them all at the same time. Their mess of a SKU lineup makes you choose between the features, and that's a huge deal breaker for somebody wanting to truly tailor a keyboard to their specific needs.

 

I would like to see the day when keyboards can be purchased with your choice of features ALONGSIDE your choice of switches. Even the ability to swap out the switch on keyboards would be a huge step forward. With so many switches now out there it might be time to make the "fully configurable keyboard" a real thing allowing people to pick exactly what they want - key caps, switches, layout, keyboard base color, wired/wireless, standard/low profile, etc...

 

In my case that would be a low profile wireless variant with PBT key caps and macros. Add an on/off switch that's easy to reach, dedicated calculator key and I'm a happy camper.

 

I paid $300 for what I am typing on now after all the mods and extras - any markup on a keyboard that you can configure and build yourself would be expected. Some of us do have deep pockets and/or want the stuff that isn't available off-the-shelf.

[seon123]

I must say that I really liked this. Blind tests are pretty uncommon, and especially ones with so many test subjects with varying interest level. There's only so much someone can learn when entering a community that has pretty much homogenised into liking Holy Pandas, so this is really great.

 

I do kind of feel like the silenced switches could have been in categories for silenced linears and silenced tactiles. Although I do see how that would make this more complicated, and harder to compare, with five different categories instead of just three.

 

I'm curious, which weighting were the C3 Tangerines, and all the Zeal switches? There are several different versions of the switches available, and weighting can be a significant factor. And could we get a video that's not just highlights, but is simply everyone's reactions to every switch? Maybe just with labels that show which two switches are being compared. The switches that didn't get any/only a few votes weren't included, but I would still be interested in hearing what people thought of them. If not on the main channel, maybe just unlisted and linked here?

 

16 minutes ago, Luscious said:

I would like to see the day when keyboards can be purchased with your choice of features ALONGSIDE your choice of switches.

I unfortunately don't see this happening, at least not on mainstream boards. With so many different combinations, it would be difficult to do that, and the price would be higher than the current options. At that point, one might as well go for a lower volume custom

[kizza42]

So I'm a heathen that is really comfortable with the response and relative silence of the rubber domes in my logitech G11/G15/G19 Keyboards. Now that the worlds gone Mechanical mad, I can't buy anything like that anymore  I bought a Corsair K70 with Mx Red's but ended up with false presses all the time, Had to give it away. Where do I go if I'm forced on to Mechanical switches?

[EnsRedShirt]

I saw the desk pad.. I just got a dual monitor setup at work and want a good desk pad to do away with my small mouse pad... Any chance we will see one on lttstore.com soon? 

[Results45]

 

7 hours ago, James said:

THE RESULTS:

.

My personal picks would definitely be the MX Browns and Tangerines. One for tactility while gaming and the other for everyday use. Also, I love how Linus would rather live alone than rooming with someone who uses a Novelty Sherbet keyboard while part of Yvonne “really likes it.”   

Seeing Riley’s reactions and Edzel looking like he had blush makeup on cracked me up so hard. This vid is definitely one of my favorites.

Can you guys do a keyboard review roundup next on low-profile mechanical keyboards?

[Dredgy]

7 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

MX blacks get my pick. I wish cherry made a even harder switch that didn't click.

 

I feel like blacks are the forgotten child.

My personal picks are easily the MX clears, but I like the blacks for keys I have to hold down a lot. When I first customised the switches on my DAS, I used the clears for keys I had to type with, and blacks for shift, Ctrl, alt etc. 

[Nowak]

4 hours ago, kizza42 said:

So I'm a heathen that is really comfortable with the response and relative silence of the rubber domes in my logitech G11/G15/G19 Keyboards. Now that the worlds gone Mechanical mad, I can't buy anything like that anymore  I bought a Corsair K70 with Mx Red's but ended up with false presses all the time, Had to give it away. Where do I go if I'm forced on to Mechanical switches?

Here's a tip: don't get cheaply-made mechs like Corsair, Cooler Master or Logitech, because they're known to develop chattering (which is what you were describing) very quickly. I would suggest getting, say, a Keychron K2 or K4, or a Hexgears Supernova or Impulse instead. Something way better built that also doesn't break the bank, as all of those come under $100 depending on configuration.

[Dylanc1500]

Should have thrown in a buckling spring keyboard for comparison. I would love to have seen how those stood up to the others.

[caincha]

Wasn't this done before already? I remember they even called Luke to try and trick him but took him about a second to tell which was what 

[b emoji]

13 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

MX blacks get my pick. I wish cherry made a even harder switch that didn't click.

 

I feel like blacks are the forgotten child.

There are Cherry MX Linear Grey and MX Super and Mega Blacks, you can always spring swap to make the heavier. 

MX Blacks are going pretty strong within the enthusiast circle actually especially with the higher end custom boards (500$ + boards), lots of people are using vintage or retooled cherry black switches (Spring swapped, filmed and lubed usually).  

11 hours ago, seon123 said:

The Sky and Ice are pretty good, afaik, but they are not very common.

Not V1s, those had so much wobble the keycaps would sag down, and the linear version's stem pole was so thick that heroinbob (the vendor of Outemu sky) included drill bits for users to "retool" the switches.